The following is an archive copy of President Clinton's
proclamation of Eleanor Roosevelt Day on October 10, 2000.

Eleanor
Roosevelt Day, 2000

By
the President of the United States of America

A
Proclamation

Eleanor
Roosevelt was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, and her
life spanned some of the most dramatic and challenging events in modern history.
Steadfast in her commitment to America, democracy, and a world that honored
human rights, she told Americans across the Nation, "We are on trial to
show what democracy means."Through
the Great Depression, two world wars, the Holocaust, the creation of the United
Nations, the Cold War, and the civil rights movement, her singular integrity and
clear moral vision helped forge a better life for people around the world.

Eleanor
Roosevelt was our longest-serving First Lady, and her dedicated efforts as a
political leader, humanitarian, social activist, and journalist have made her an
icon to millions.During the 12
years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Administration, she traveled tirelessly
around the country, listening to the American people's problems, concerns, joys,
and fears.She saw firsthand the
ravages that poverty, greed, ignorance, and bigotry wreaked on the lives of
ordinary Americans.She advocated
strongly for our Nation's disadvantaged -- urging an end to child labor, pushing
for the establishment of a minimum wage, speaking out for workers' rights,
confronting racial discrimination in New Deal programs, and encouraging greater
power and independence for women in the workplace.

But
perhaps her greatest achievement would come in the years after her husband's
death.A delegate to the General
Assembly of the newly created United Nations from 1945 to 1951, Eleanor
Roosevelt was elected Chairperson of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission in 1946.
She played a pivotal role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and its final language vividly reflects her humanitarian ideals and
uncompromising commitment to the inherent worth of every human being.The first article of the Declaration, "All human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights," set the standard by which all future
human rights charters would be judged.

Whether
working for the United Nations, the NAACP, the Girl Scouts, the Presidential
Commission on the Status of Women, or the National

Conference
of Christians and Jews, Eleanor Roosevelt devoted her boundless energy to
creating a world defined by respect for and dedication to democratic values.She was a woman ahead of her time, and her achievements transcend her
generation.As we seek to chart a
steady course for America, democracy, and human rights in this new century, we
need only look to her values, character, and accomplishments to provide us with
an unfailing moral compass.

NOW,
THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2000, the anniversary of her birthday, as
Eleanor Roosevelt Day. I call upon government officials, educators, labor
leaders, employers, diplomats, human rights activists, and citizens of the
United States to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities.

IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.